Ireland has not remained neutral on war in Ukraine: President Zelenskyy's address in full

In a historic address to the Irish parliament, he said Ireland has supported Ukraine from the first days of the war

President Zelensky of Ukraine's address to the Oireachtas is displayed on a mobile phone outside Leinster House.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ireland has not remained neutral over the disaster Russia has inflicted on his country.

In a historic address to a joint sitting of the Oireachtas, he said Ireland has supported Ukraine from the first days of the war.

Read the full transcript of Mr Zelenskyy's speech below. 

Mr Speaker, Taoiseach, dear Senators and Members of the Parliament, dear people of Ireland, this night our territory was again hit by Russian missiles.

It was done cunningly and civilian infrastructure was hit. The new fuel storage depot was hit. This is viewed by Russia as a target.

This is its attribute. It is destroying things that are sustaining people's livelihoods. It is hitting places where we store fuel, food storage depots, agricultural equipment and fields. It is putting mines into the fields. It has also blocked all our seaports, together with the vessels that already had agricultural cargo for export.

Why are they doing this? For them, hunger is also a weapon — a weapon against us ordinary people, an instrument of domination. Ukraine is one of the leading food-supplying countries in the world.

This is not just about the deficit and the threat of hunger for more than dozens of countries, including in Asia and Africa; it is about even more because there will be a shortage of food and the prices will go up.

This is the reality for millions of people who are hungry. It will be more difficult for them to feed their families, especially in North Africa.

The Russians are undermining our seeding time, destroying our infrastructure and deliberately provoking the food crisis. What will happen as a result of this crisis?

At the least, there will be political turbulence. At a maximum, there will be binges of violence and new refugees looking to save their lives. Russia is using this hunger weapon.

Volunteers help an elderly woman as people from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the territory controlled by separatist governments in eastern Ukraine, leave a train to be taken to temporary residences in Nizhny Novgorod region, at the railway station in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Saturday, April 2, 2022. Picture: AP Photo

The worst thing is the city of Mariupol. This city of half a million inhabitants was put under siege and Russia has blocked access from the soil and the sea.

It is blocking the humanitarian cargo and not allowing anything to come through — neither water nor medication. While it was snowing, people could melt the snow to get water. Now they do not have even that. The Russians are bombing 24-7.

There are airstrikes and bombings in Mariupol. There is no single house left intact in a city of half a million. None. The dead or killed were simply buried in the yards of the condominiums.

In many cases, that could not even be done: the bodies were just left lying on the streets and in the remnants of the buildings and basements. We do not know how many citizens of Mariupol have been killed by Russia, but we know for sure this was part of general occupation tactics.

It has done or attempted to do the same with the cities of Chernihiv, Sumy, Okhtyrka, Kharkiv, Izyum, Volnovakha and many other Ukrainian cities. Maybe Members have not heard those geographic names yet but this is about millions of people that Russia has been continually trying to destroy.

When you hear these things, it may seem that this is not possible. It may seem that none in the present-day world would dare to do these things, but these are real facts.

The fact is that Mariupol citizens were drawing the maps of how to find the bodies of the dead who were buried in their yards. The fact is that Russian occupants were killing people on the roads when they were trying to escape the blocked cities.

Today on the Ukrainian highways, we have hundreds of shot and burned cars. The fact is that Russian soldiers were not even trying to take the bodies out of the streets.

Repairmen restore local communication cables among the debris of destroyed armoured vehicles and buildings on a street in the town of Bucha, on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 5, 2022. Picture: GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images

While Bucha and Irpin were under occupation, these dead bodies were simply lying on the streets, on the sideways, in the yards of the houses, anywhere. The fact is that in the 42 days of the all-out Russian war, at least 167 children have been killed in Ukraine.

We do not yet know all the atrocities of Mariupol and the victims in all the areas of Ukraine where the fighting is still going on. The fact is that, as a result of Russian shelling, 927 educational institutions and 258 hospitals were damaged. The Russians even shot at 78 ambulances. They were targeting even churches and shelters where they knew for sure there was nobody but women and children. This is a fact.

The country that is doing this does not deserve to be in the circle of civilised countries. It should be held responsible for everything it has done on Ukrainian soil. The Russians have come to Ukraine as a colonising army.

Their state protagonists and their politicians are not even concealing what they want. In the 21st century, they are looking at their country as a colonial empire which allegedly has the right to subdue neighbouring people, destroy the foundations of their independent life and destroy their identity, everything that makes us Ukrainians.

Russian soldiers were deliberately looking for and killing teachers in the occupied districts. They are abducting local government leaders and they are killing community leaders. Together with the Russian army, there were special groups coming in who were trying to destroy any political opposition.

Now, when we are hearing new rhetoric about the sanctions against the Russian opposition, I cannot tolerate any indecisiveness after everything we have gone through in Ukraine and after everything that Russian troops have done.

Today, when the world knows about the crimes against our people, we still have to convince even some European companies to abandon the Russian market. We still have to convince foreign politicians that we need to cut any ties of Russian banks with the global financial system.

We still have to convince Europe that Russian oil cannot feed the Russian military machine with new sources of funding.

Refugees from Ukraine enter the Republic of Moldova at Palanca-Maiaky-Udobne border crossing point between Moldova and Ukraine, on March 30, 2022. Picture: DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP via Getty Images

Ladies and gentlemen, the people of Ireland have been supporting good and supporting Ukraine since the very first days. This is a fact. They did not doubt starting to help us; they began doing this right away.

Although Ireland is a neutral country, it has not remained neutral to the disaster and to the mishaps that Russia has brought to Ukraine. I am grateful to every citizen of Ireland.

Thank you for supporting sanctions against Russia, thank you for the humanitarian and financial support extended to our country and thank you for your care of our Ukrainian people who found shelter on your land.

Think about the fact that, as of today, 10 million Ukrainians have been left without shelter by Russia. They had to leave their native cities because of this war. This is something we cannot come to grips with. It means that Russia has not yet abandoned its plans. It is still looking to subdue and occupy all the Ukrainian people.

We want you to help us to make sure that Russia will start looking for peace and leave us alone. I ask you to show more leadership in our anti-war coalition. I ask you to convince EU partners to introduce even more rigid sanctions against Russia that would really make sure that the Russian war machine will stop. We have to put an end to trading with Russia. We have to cut the ties of Russian banks to the global system and cut the sources of their income from oil that they use for their weapons and for killing.

There are mechanisms through which this can be done. The only thing we are lacking is a principled approach from some political and business leaders who still believe war and war crimes are not as horrific as financial losses.

Relatives and friends stand near the coffin of Ukrainian serviceman Anatoly German during a funeral ceremony in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2022. Picture: AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko

I am sure Ireland's leadership can make a difference and change this. I am sure that the whole of Europe will be able to stop this war and bring peace and stability to the east of Europe. We cannot delay any longer.

The longer Russia's aggression continues, the worse the consequences will be not only for our continent but for neighbouring regions.

I say to Members and to the people of Ireland that our principled approach and courage have already turned a new page in the relationship between Ukraine and Ireland.

Our mutual understanding and mutual respect is at such a level that it is only a question of time before we can start living in a common European home.

I thank Ireland for its support with regard to the accelerated procedure to provide membership of the EU to Ukraine.

With this support, the process will be even faster. Such membership will be beneficial to both of our nations. We need to start thinking about the restoration of our country after the war. We are inviting leading countries of the world to participate in rebuilding and restoring Ukraine.

Of course, Ireland is always welcome to participate, for example, in Kherson Oblast. Ireland is known for the value it places on life, its community development experience and its economic potential.

Let us bring our efforts together and show that, jointly, Ukraine and Ireland can do much more than the biggest country in the world can destroy.

I am grateful to Ireland. Slava Ukraini.